Nagas, Bats, and Nekos
by SalinaSwathe
Summary: AU Ever since he was young, Grimm has been able to see through the guises of were-folk as well as other mythical creatures that inhabited his hometown. What happens when he accidentally lets a few into his home. Definite language, BL, Yaoi, Multiple pairings
1. Chp I: Childhood

Hey there! I'm back with a new story, I'm hoping to post rather long chapters (except maybe this one since it's just an intro/prologue), so expect slow updates for this one, especially while school's in sesh. But anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Bleach rightfully belongs to Tite Kubo...

* * *

_The boy looked out the car window in awe as he watched the buildings and people go by. Everything was so new to him, and he reveled in their presence. He'd never seen the "outside world" until now, what with being trapped in the confines of the tall fence around the house since he could boy was so wrapped up in the sights that he barely heard his mother gently call his name. He hummed in acknowledgement, but still looked out the window._

_"Sit back, Grimm," she murmured._

_With a sad moan, he scooted back. Unfortunately, in the new position he could nary see the world outside the window let alone anything above the windowsill, sky was all that he could see. He sighed and looked to the side where his favourite book sat on the seat. He pulled it into his lap and skimmed the yellowed pages. He couldn't read it, but he loved all the pictures of magical beings it housed._

_"Ah, Grimmjow!"_

_He flinched and looked guiltily at his father._

_The senior Jaegerjaques balanced watching the road and looking at his son with ease. "I thought I told you not to take that out the house."_

_"Oh, let him keep it, Alois. It can't hurt anything, can it?"_

_He growled low in his throat. "That tome has been in my family for centuries. Sure **he'll** be careful, but what about all the other munchkins, huh? They'd probably spill something on it. Besides, I can't take the risk of someone recognizing it."_

_"I'm sure it'll be fine, dear." She laid a soothing hand on his shoulder. "You worry too much."_

_"Don't I have a right to?" he sighed and pulled the car to a stop and parked it. "Here we are, Grimm... your school."_

_Grimm shoved the book off his lap and moved onto his knees to get a better look out the window._

_Alois laid his head on the steering wheel. "It's not too late to turn back, Carol. Forget this... public school nonsense."_

_"Not this again."_

_"Seriously, Care! This is a big thing, I don't see why we can't just keep him at home. He'd be safer there."_

_Grimmjow whined sadly. He knew that they were going to argue again, and he didn't like it, especially when he couldn't get away. He covered his ears and looked on._

_"We can't keep him locked away in the house forever, Al!"_

_Alois lifted his head and faced his wife. "Why can't we? At least we'd always know he was safe."_

_"And he'd grow to hate us! Besides he needs friends and an education."_

_"They have online schools now, or we could even buy a tutor. Look, this would be a different matter had Grimmjow been normal, but he's not, and... I'm scared of what could happen."_

_"Well don't be when it completely interferes with our child's development. Grimmjow needs experiences and to interact with kids his age. Not isolation and walls 'protecting' him from life. Al, Grimm **needs** this. There's nothing you can say that would change my mind."_

_Alois growled and slammed his hands on the steering wheel, venting. "Fine, dammit! Fine. Is that what you want to hear? We'll send Grimmjow to school, but if anything happens, I'll pull him out so fast your head will spin."_

_Caroline smiled and leaned over to pressed a quick kiss to the man's cheek. "Good." She looked to the backseat. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Mommy and daddy aren't fighting anymore, so uncover your ears." She smiled as Grimm tentatively did so. "Come on, are you ready to go inside?"_

_Grimm smiled and nodded eagerly before opening the door and hopping out. His mother and father were right behind him._

_"Leave that in the car," his father grumbled and reached for the old book._

_The 5-year-old held it away from his father, whining a long "No."_

_"Let him keep it," the wife warned._

_With a groan from Alois and a delighted "Yay" from Grimm, the three-headed towards the school doors. They were buzzed in and were met by the principal in front of the office. Few words were exchanged and they were led towards the section of the school Grimm's class lied. The whole experience passed unbeknownst to the blue-haired kid. He was too mesmerized by his principal. He was just so... furry._

_Dark brown hair covered his face with similarly colored dog ears peeking out of lighter hued tresses. A tail waved about behind him as he walked, teasingly out of reach. with a light chuckle he reached out and tried to grab it._

_His father slapped his hand. "No," he growled low enough that only Grimm could hear it, who pouted and looked towards the floor. He raised his head again upon hearing the cheery voice of his teacher. His awestruck smile returned with a vengeance. He squealed and darted past his furry principal._

_His teacher was surprised by his eagerness but laughed and bent down to his level to greet him._

_"Your wings are really cool!" he blurted._

_Said wings fluttered nervously. "W-What?"_

_"You look like one of the things from my book!" Grimm laid the book on the floor and flipped through it until he found the right picture. "See, look! I can't read what it says, but that really really looks like you!" He looked back up and frowned at the terrified look on his teacher's face. "Miss?"_

_His teacher was pale as she looked up towards her father. She stood and backed away in fear. "I...I... Please, I don't want any trouble."_

_Grimm's father groaned and looked between the teacher and the equally terrified principal behind him. He shot his confused wife an icy glare and looked back at the winged teacher. "Please, you misunderstand, ma'am. Here, just come to the side, and I'll explain everything to you both."_

_The two non humans shared indecisive looks before the school head nodded and they walked a few feet from Carolina and her son, out of earshot._

_Grimm looked to his mother. "Did I do something bad?"_

_"No sweetie, you didn't do anything bad. but" she kneeled to his level, "from now on, you can't talk about what other people look like. If they look like anything from your book you have to keep it to yourself, got it?"_

_"But..." Grimm looked to where the other grown-ups talked down the hall, and back to his mother, "she looks cool..."_

_"Grimm."_

_Grimmjow sighed. "Yes, mommy, I got it."_

_She smiled and kissed his forehead. "Good boy."_

_They heard the tail-end of the conversation as Alois and the teacher and principal approached. "-nothing will happen to you or any others."_

_"Everything alright?" she asked as they approached._

_The teacher smiled. "I'd like to say so."_

_"I'm taking this," Al grumbled and snatched the book out of Grimm's arms. _

_"Hey!" Grimm whimpered and hopped up in down with his hands outstretched towards the hardback. _

_"This stays home from now on, Grimmjow! And that's final."_

_Grimm sniffled and stopped his hopping. He whined as tears welled up in his eyes._

_"Well, I'm sure that you'd be too busy to even be able to read it," his teacher piped up. "You'd forget about it a soon as you started making new friends."_

Friends? _Grimm smiled at that. He'd never had a friend before. He took the hand his new teacher offered and looked at his parents as she addressed them both._

_"Don't worry. I'll take great care of Grimmjow!"_

_"See you later, mommy and daddy!"_

_Al wrapped an arm around his wife's waist, "Be good, you hear?" and walked back towards the entrance with the principal."_

_His teacher gently tugged him towards the classroom. "Come on, let's meet your classmates."_

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and leave a review. Have a wonderful day beautiful people!


	2. Chp II: Stranglehold and Revenge

_11:27 pm_

The trees overhead did very little to protect Grimmjow from the freezing downpour as he walked home late that night. The trek was long, but after walking the same path for 6 years it was almost second nature to him. The wind picked up, and with a groan Grimm flipped up his collar and walked against the gale.

Despite the arduous journey, Grimm loved living on the outskirts of town, away from all the people and noise. His house even faced away from the town towards the deep forest, furthering his self-isolation. However, on nights like these, thoughts of investing in a scooter or motorbike played in his head.

He sighed with relief when he finally saw the dark outline on his house peeking through the trees. He was blinded by the porch light when the motion detector noticed him. Wanting nothing more than to get out of the rain, he rubbed rain and spots from his eyes as he walked up the two steps and under the protection of the overhang. His foot hit something and he stopped.

Expecting to see an unanticipated package, he opened his eyes and looked down. Grimm's cerulean eyes widened, and with a short cry he fell backwards off the stoop. He hit the wet ground hard, and instantly began questioning what he'd seen. _No, couldn't be._

Grimmjow careful rose to his feet, and all but snuck quietly towards his porch. _You gotta be shitting me..._

Two gigantic- no colossal- snakes lie on his welcome mat, curled together in a tight ball. The only reason Grimm could even tell that there were two snakes was the two distinct patterns, blackened scales with golden flecks and dark brown with orange here and there. The thin bodies didn't move, he began to question whether or not they were alive but a tiny flick of the black one's tail tip proved otherwise.

Grimmjow was hesitant to walk back on the porch, but staying out in the rain wasn't an option for him. He looked around for a moment and noticed the curtains flick out of the window with the new burst of wind that passed. He grimaced knowing that something had probably gotten wet from his forgetfulness, but there wasn't much that he could do about it now. He climbed over the railing nearest the portal and through the window.

Groaning when he hit the floor on the other side, he reached back up and slid the window closed. He laid there in the darkness for a bit. _What now? _He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it.

Another thing that sucked about living so far out: signal was nonexistent. He didn't even know why he'd even gotten a cell in the first place. Oh, that's right. His boss threatened him. Grimmjow was tough, but even he had a hard time dealing with Ganju when the man got angry. Sicking his older sister on him usually helped.

He got up and stumbled over to the landline, flicking on a couple of lights as he went. He picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. _Dead. Great, now what? _Grimmjow didn't want to leave something like that on his porch. It'd scare away the mailman.

...and it could freeze to death.

He heaved and exasperated sigh and tousled his hair. _What was that thing they do with snakes again? Put them in bags, right? _He walked off towards the back room to find an empty laundry bag.

It took nearly two hours before Grimm managed to find a large enough bag and then slide the hunk of snake inside it, but when he finally finished he dragged the reptile inside and put it close to the vent in the kitchen. He cranked the heat to 70, and went to take a shower.

Grimmjow was reminded of how cold he was when he finally peeled off his layers and the air from the vent hit him. He set the shower to scalding and hopped in. He stood there under the spray until his skin turned rosy before turning the temperature down and actually rubbing soap on his skin and through his hair. He rinsed and reluctantly got out to towel off and throw on his flannel night pants and threadbare NASCAR tee.

His butt hit the mattress before he remembered the slithery package in his kitchen. He decided to go check on it.

He crept through his hallway carefully, turning the lights back on as he walked. He peeked around the corner before fully entering the kitchen, and surveying the motionless bag basking in the vent's warm air. From what he could tell, the bag was still intact. It twitched suddenly, and Grimm was on top of the granite island with an effeminate squeak. He cowered up there for a few moments until he was sure that it was safe to move again. He rested his rump on the countertop, an sighed.

_What was I thinking, bring that thing in here? I'd better be able to call someone to come pick it up in the morning. _He chuckled to himself. _I can imagine that conversation already. _

_'Hello, this it the Animal Shelter, how can I help you?' _

_Yeah, well, I found some big ass boa constrictors on my porch last night. Mind coming to pick them up? _

_'...' _

_Hello?_

_'Are you... are you serious?'_

Grimm let out a short laugh and a yawn interrupted him. _What time is it?_

2:00 shone bright in green on the microwave.

_Shit, I need to get to bed. _Grimm chanced one last look at the bag, before hopping down and heading back to his room. _Sweet dreams, here I come..._

* * *

_8:36 am_

His mouth opened and he let out a watery gasp as his bones creaked and his lungs burned. He tried to open his eyes but something heavy rested upon them and his arms were pinned awkwardly to his chest so he couldn't push it away. What covered his eyes felt like what bound him, and he could feel the muscle past the suede-like outer covering. It flexed and he let out a painfully wail.

The thing binding him flinched and the sound of a punch rang.

"Shit! Get up, we're crushing him!"

Air rushed into Grimm's lungs as the pressure around him disappeared, and his eyes watered as the blindfold was lifted and the morning sun poured onto his face.

"Why'd you hit me?!"

"Because that's the only way to wake you up!"

A hand was pressed to Grimm's pec and he shivered; he could feel the cold from the hand through his shirt. He looked to the hand's owner.

Chocolate brown eyes stared into his seeming to search for something. Orange hair outlined a soft but angular face.

"Hey."

Grimm turned around to another face, a paler version of the first, but his eyes made him shudder. Blackened orbs with golden irises stared back at him.

"You okay, guy?" the pale guy asked, his mouth opening to reveal two long fangs and a deep blue snake tongue.

Grimm could only make a weird sound in fright and unwittingly scooted into the first person's lap. He turned around again and leaped away upon seeing another set of fangs.

"Wait a sec!" The oranget wrapped his arms around Grimm, bringing him back into his lap with ease. "What's up with you, man? We're just trying to make sure we didn't break anything!" He shifted slightly and Grimmjow finally noticed his lack of legs; nothing but snake on the bottom.

A terrified shout ripped its way out of his throat and he threw himself out of the bed. He hit the floor hard, but fought back a groan until he was out the door. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it.

_What the Hell were those?_ he wondered in a panic. But then he wondered why he was panicking. He'd seen freaky- mystical- things all his life. Grandmothers with horns. Babies with claws. The local ice cream parlor owner had both. Then again, that was the thing; all of those occurrences had happened _**outside**, _back in town. He'd never awoken to two different colored snake twins in his bed before. The book. He needed to consult his book.

He got up and jogged towards his back room.

_Wait, their tails. They had the same patterns as the snakes from last night. _He stopped and looked inside the kitchen for the laundry bag. He found something else instead.

A naked man laid on his side in the place where the bag had ben. Black tribal marking were etched into his tanned skin, making the man look wild and exotic though his resting face was calm. Long red hair spilled from his scalp creating a blood-red halo on the floor. Grimmjow's eyebrows rose at the sight of the passed out guy's inhuman features. A smoky black forked tail grew out of his backside while cat ears of the same color peeked out of the red waves. His mouth opened wide as he yawned and stretched, scratching his claws on the linoleum. Hey opened his brown eyes opened and locked onto Grimm.

He snarled. "_You!_"

Grimmjow took a step back. "Me?"

The cat-man leaped to his feet and fell into a fighting stance. "You'll pay for what you did!" A burst of flames engulfed the man. They dispersed revealing him once more but he had transformed slightly.

Dark fur covered his entire lower body and grew up his sides, outlining his bare abdomen and pecs, to cover his arms and hands. Cuffs of orange flames encircled his wrists and ankles, and the two tips of his tail were aflame.

"Prepare for your death!"

Grimm looked around in confusion. "Me?!"

His claws grew and glinted in the light, and with another feral snarl he lunged at the startled man.

Grimm yelped and dived out of the way. He scrambled towards his back room and slammed the door. Locking it and shoving some junk against it.

"Get out here and face me like a man, you murderer!"

"No way, man."

The room was still trashed from last night when he'd searched for the bag for the snakes, but he kicked a few things away and uncovered the old leather-back book. As the beast outside rammed the door, Grimm threw himself in the closet and clicked on the light inside. He sat among the clutter and junk and flipped furiously until he found the picture of beings like the twins in his bed.

_**Nāga:**_

_Nāga is the Sanskrit and Pali word for a deity or class of entity or being, __taking the form of a very great snake. _

_Being far from an actual deity, __they lack actual powers other than being able to transform into a variety of _

_snakes, __their __usual half-man, half-snake form, or a more humanoid form which includes legs. Some may even _

_to have the ability to hypnotize other living things. __Nāgas can either be __nomadic __or settle down in villages __bordering _

_swamps or rivers, and are generally peace-loving creatures._

_Beware of loners however. Lone Nāgas are known to be much more violent than their counterparts, _

_and are able to create a special venom that they are quick to use in desperate situations._

"Great, just my luck. Those things in my bed are probably loners!" He flipped a page. "What? No weaknesses?! How do I protect myself from those things!?"

He heard the door to the room crash open. "Where are you? Get out here you coward!"

_Shit! Anything on this guy? _He flipped until he found the correct picture.

_**Kasha:**_

_A kasha is a humanoid cat-demon that can either have the head of a cat or tiger with a __burning tail __or a humanoid_

_ appearance with cat ears and a forked tail, but have the ability to turn into a wild cat or a domesticated breed __of cat. _

_They're similar to the other __cat-demons, nekomatas and bakenekos. __Kashas are a warrior type __of mystical beast __with a firm _

_grasp on a caste system going in the order of:_

_ Leaders and Nobles_

_2. Warriors and Protectors_

_3. Craftsmen and Merchants_

_4. Hunters and Gatherers_

_5. Outcasts_

_Along with their enhanced strength, they can, to an extent, control fire._

_What no weaknesses on them either?! This really is nothing but a picture book._

The closet door was suddenly ripped from its hinges.

"There you are!" The kasha threw the door to the side and cracked his knuckles. "Have you made peace with your Gods?"

"Renj, stop!"

A flash of brown zipped by pushing the kasha out of the doorway. Grimm crawled out and looked to the side. The orange-haired nāga had his tail wrapped around the cat-demon and was fighting to pin down his flaming wrists.

"Let go of me, serpent!" the kasha yowled. "I will avenge her! That human will die by my hands!"

The nāga put his face close to the kasha's ear. Grimm thought that he'd bit him when the beast fell still and he burst into flames again, this time emerging flameless and without his black fur. The nāga released his wrists and supported himself on the kasha's shoulders as the cat-demon sat up to peer at Grimm.

"Tell me your name, human," the kasha demanded.

Grimmjow let out a dry breathy laugh as he stood and moved free of the ruined closet door frame. "You.. you attack me in my own house, call me a murderer, ruin _two _of my doors, and _then_ you ask - no demand- to know my name?" He pointed an accusing finger at the beast. "You... can go fuck yourself!"

The kasha lunged at him but the nāga still wrapped around him kept him at bay.

"You should jus' drop it, Red." Grimm jumped at the sudden appearance of the albino nāga and the gurgley sound in his voice. "Yah've made a bad first impression o' yerself." He looked to Grimm and gave him an insane yet friendly smile. "Name's Shiro," he pointed, "orange over there is my little bro, Ichigo, and that pissed off cat is Renji. What abou' you, Blue?" Shiro put out a hand, expecting a handshake.

Grimm slapped the hand away and took a step back. "Do you always call everyone by their hair color?"

Shiro shook his hand, and kept smiling, not offended in the least. "Jus' the ones wi' cool hair colors." He raised an eyebrow at the suspicious look Grimm gave him. "C'mon, I'm jus' tryin' t' make up fer Red's... uh... less than friendly introduction. I jus' wanna be friends, that's all."

The human in the room stared at Shiro dubiously and then gave the same look to the other two "fabled" creatures. There was no way he'd ever trust that Renji character, but there was hope for the snakes. Also, it was probably best to stay on their good side. They kept tiger over there in check and then there was that venom the book talked about.

He took Shiro's hand. "Grimmjow Jaeggerjaques."

Shiro's smile went back to insane, and before Grimm could blink, he wrapped himself around the man and sat his loinclothed "posterior" on his shoulder; he was surprisingly light, but cumbersome nonetheless.

Ichigo unwrapped himself from Renji. "Hear that? The human's off-limits."

Renji stood and dusted himself off. "I have no reason to attack him anymore. He isn't the one I want anyway."

"Good, I'd hate to be on your bad side," Grimm muttered dryly. He was shot a bad look.

Ichigo gave Renji's shoulder a playful slap. "Now that that's over, I guess I should mention the fourth member of our little group."

Grimmjow groaned. "Fourth member?"

* * *

Heeere's the new chapter! The descriptions for the creatures are partly made up, as well as have actual information I either knew or looked up. Good luck figuring out which is which! Haha

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review, and have a nice day!


	3. Chp III: Housemates

Ichigo gave Renji's shoulder a playful slap. "Now that that's over, I guess I should mention the fourth member of our little group."

Grimmjow groaned. "Fourth member?"

Ichigo slithered away and Renji followed, giving Grimm a shoulder bump that nearly knocked him over. Grimm caught his balance and glowered at the albino still perched on his shoulder. "You gonna get down anytime soon?"

Shiro unwound himself and got situated on the floor. "Sorry, I got comfortable." He turned and headed for the door.

Grimmjow watch him slither away, and moved to follow him. He paused before going back to the closet to grab the book, and proceeding to the front room. He'd have to clean up later.

He entered the front room to see his "house guests" gathered around the hallway closet nearest his room. His shoulders slumped and he let out dread-filled groan.

Carrot-top grabbed the closet's handle. "Grimmjow, meet our last member," he opened the door revealing an upside-down figure, "Ulquiorra."

Long shaggy black hair flowed from his pale head, making an inky pool on the floor. Large leathery bat wings encircled his body covering everything else but his black furred, three-toed feet which clutched the high-set hanger rod. He opened his large emerald eyes and stared emotionlessly at the beings peering at him. "Why are you disturbing my rest, trash?" he muttered evenly.

_Oh, he's lovely._

"Come out here, and meet our host," Ichigo said.

Though his expression remained blank, Grimm couldn't help but think that he looked displeased at that. He covered his face with his wings. "No."

Ichigo coiled his tail giving himself a lower vantage point, and getting him closer to the manbat's head. "C'mon, it'll only take a second."

While the naga tried to coax his friend out of the closet, Grimm looked him up.

_?/(Manbat)_

_There is no documented name for this species, so most call them by the name "Manbat"._

_This species is very secretive, and tends to live solo until they've found a mate, or old age makes them need to live in a small tribe-like group for protection._

_They can be hostile, but once one has earned their trust, any sort of being has nothing to worry about and can coexist with them peacefully. They are nocturnal,_

_and prefer small areas in which to sleep during the day and may even switch into their miniscule bat form to rest.__They have __large eyes with __excellent __night-_

_vision, and their wings are usually three-times the size __of their body._

_Not much else is known about this species._

_This book is useless! _Grimmjow resisted the urge to throw the old tome and returned his attention to the group just as Renji took hold of the Manbat's legs and yanked him out of the closet.

Ulquiorra screeched and writhed in the kasha's grip until he broke free. He fell into a crouch on the floor before leaping up and clawing at Renji's face, leaving long shallow scores down his cheek and neck. They both snarled at each other until Shiro got between them. His presence seemed to calm them both, or at least keep them from tearing each other's throats out.

When Renji huffed and turned his back, Ulquiorra went back to his neutral mood and turned away as well. He looked at Grimmjow blankly but studiously, and Grimm studied him back.

With his wings semi-folded behind him and the light fixture next to him, Grimm could of course see him much better. Ulquiorra wasn't pale so much as colorless, unmarred by blush or blemish. His eyes were very large and his deep green irises took up most of the sclera. The green extended to the inside of his wings though they were very much darker. He wore a dark hide loincloth with his long tail wrapped around his hips and a leather strap around his neck as his only clothing.

None of Grimm's house guests seemed to wear much actually; nothing in Renji's case.

"You are the owner of this human den?" Ulquiorra inquired.

Grimm nodded. "Yeah."

Ulquiorra blinked slowly, and gave the slightest of nods, which Grimm felt would be the closet he'd ever get to an actual thank you. His unnervingly large eyes opened once more and focused on the human as if waiting for something.

"Oh, um..." Grimm jabbed a thumb behind him, "you can go back to sleep. Yah know, if you want to."

The bat weaved past him and back into the closet. He slammed the door behind him and after a bit of bumping about and some rustling of wings it was silent.

"I assume you want an explanation?" Ichigo murmured.

Grimmjow crossed his arms and sighed. "No, I think I've just about figured it out," he muttered. He pointed as he spoke. "You two are cold-blooded, so the weather last night made you come to my porch for shelter. That kept you out of the rain, sure, but it was still cold so that guy turned into a small cat and that guy turned into a bat and let you wrap around them for warmth. Am I right in thinking that the only reason Ulquiorra was even in that ball was because it was raining?" The twins nodded, and he continued. "Okay, so I brought you guys in and when you woke up or whatever, you slithered about until you found my room and climbed in. That about right?"

They both nodded. "Wow, aren't you a smart human!" Shiro teased earnestly.

Grimmjow waved the book. "Well, it wasn't that hard to figure out after I read about you guys in this." He flinched when a hand darted out and snatched the book before he'd even finished his sentence. He looked around in confusion until his eyes landed on Renji thumbing through the book.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

Grimmjow reached out and tried to take it back but the kasha kept it just out of reach. "I got it from my dad." He gave up on trying to get it back. "I've had it since I was a kid, and when I moved out my mother insisted that my dad let me keep it."

Shiro made a concerned look. "Wha' do yah use this for?"

"I barely ever looked at it after eleventh grade, and this is the first time I've even read it in years! I never let go of the damn thing when I was a kid though."

"So..." Shiro chose his words carefully, " this was jus' a storybook for yah?"

"Well, not so much a storybook, but a "monster encyclopedia" of sorts." He glared when Renji made a suspicious face. "Problem, cat?"

Ichigo hugged Grimm's arm. "No problem. Right, Renji?"

"Yeah, yeah," he dismissed and gave Grimm back the book. "You're no threat to me or anyone. I'm going back to bed." He shook his mane of hair and Grimm watched as his bones began to shift until he was on all fours as a small dark red and black maned lion.

"Geez!" Grimm exclaimed and hopped backwards.

Renji looked at him over his shoulder and rolled his big eyes before strolling towards the living room.

"He can turn int' a jaguar too," Shiro piped up.

"I prefer his bengal cat form personally," Ichigo expressed. He tugged Grimm towards the bed room. "Let's follow, Renji's example and get back to bed. I'm still cold."

Grimm resisted but Shiro shoved him from behind. "Yeah, warm us up, human." He shoved him again and they all ended up back in the bedroom, and the alarm clock was blaring now. Grimm rushed over to it. _9:18._

"Shit! I'm going to be late!" Grimmjow began darting around his room, snatching up clothes. He ran to hs bathroom to change and throw some deodorant on. He splashed water on his face and brushed his teeth before running out of the bathroom. He yanked on his boots and jacket.

"Wha' are yah late for?"

"Work!" He grabbed his keys and went for the door with the nagas on his heels.

"You want our help?"

Grimmjow froze in the open doorway and turned to them. "No no no-no! No! You stay here, or the forest or whatever, but do NOT follow me to town!" He put up a hand in a stay gesture, and carefully backed out of the house. He shut the door and headed for the town, full-tilt. _Man, Ganju is going to kill me!_

* * *

A wide grin cracked across Shiro's gob. He chuckled.

"We're going to follow him, aren't we?"

Shiro said nothing as he opened the door and slithered outside. Ichigo only shook his head and followed his mischievous older brother.

* * *

Ganju worked Grimmjow hard for being late, he assigned him three totally beat-up cars to fix, which wasn't all bad. Grimmjow loved fixing cars, the more wrecked the better, but he'd never tell his boss that. No, he'd probably think up a punishment that was actually, well... a punishment, and Grimmjow would rather avoid that.

It was late in the afternoon, and he was working on his second car. It was a sorry thing. The town was small enough that regular car use wasn't necessary, but when something did go wrong with the car, people would put it off and walk, or bike until the problem was worse. From the rust spots, flats and dents, this one was obviously left out in the rain for a while, and kids probably played near it or climbed on it making the dents. He sighed and dove in head first.

He bobbed his head to the music blaring from the nearby stereo as he worked under the hood. He reached over for a tool but it seemed to move just as his fingers brushed it. He looked up and let out a loud yell.

He bumped into the pole propping up the hood bringing the heavy metal cover down on his head. "Agh!"

"Careful there, Jow!"

Grimmjow rubbed his head and looked over to where Ganju was sending his glare. "Sorry boss. Won't happen again!" He propped the hood back up. "What are you doing here?!" he hissed under his breath.

Shiro grinned and twirled the wrench between his fingers. "Wha'? I was jus' tryin' t' help."

"No! I told you not to come to town! Wait, is Ichigo here too?" He felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see the grinning oranget.

"Wha's the problem, normal humans can't see us unless we want 'em to!" Shiro said.

Grimmjow snatched the wrench away, and tried to work - or at least look like he was working - while he continued to talk. "But what if there are other's like me in town?"

"Trust us, you'd know if there were others like you here," Ichigo assured. "Come on, let us stay. I promise I'll make sure Shiro stays out of trouble!"

"Hey!"

Grimm sighed. "What's the point, I know I can't really keep you from doing whatever you want."

Ichigo smirked. "You're right, I was only asking out of the goodness of my heart." He slithered away, grabbing his brother as he rounded the car. "We'll be outside basking; have fun with your work."

The human watched the twins leave out of the open garage door and into the bright sunlight where they disappeared out of sight. Grimmjow was half-tempted to follow them just to make sure they really didn't do anything.

"Lookin' good, Jow!"

He flinched and then cringed at the boisterous laughter that followed the praise. He groaned, but at least his boss's presence kept him from worrying about the nagas.

_10:45 p.m_

Grimmjow sighed as he wiped off his face and hands at the end of his work day. He retreated to the small locker area to remove his coveralls and gloves, and store them in his own little locker. He stifled a yelp when cold arms crawled under his shirt and pulled him into an equally cold embrace.

A voice whispered in his ear. "Ah, much better. It got ssso cold all of a sssudden."

He groaned as he felt him switch forms and wind himself around his chest.

"Ah! Me too! Me too!"

His shirt was lifted and a second body wrapped around him and got comfortable. He only sighed and threw on his jacket. Grimm left the garage and headed towards home after a few brief farewells to his coworkers. He finally spoke when he felt that they were a decent distance from town.

"Did you both really need to do this?"

He felt one of them shift and a brown and orange snake head peeked out of the neck of hs shirt. _"Sssorry, but we were sso cold that it wass getting hard for uss to move."_

"Wait, how are you talk- nevermind, I'm not gonna question it. My brain will probably just hurt." Both snakes shivered as they laughed. "If you both are warm enough, do you think you can get off?"

_"But we'll jussst get cold again."_

* * *

Grimmjow grunted. "Well anyway, you four have a lot to explain when we get back to my house."

The small group walked in silence until they finally reached the lonely dark house where they were surprised to find Ulquiorra perched on a guard rail, his green eyes glowing faintly. He lifted a wing to shied his face as Grimm's movement caused the porch light to turn on. They shared uninterested glances as Grimm unlocked his door and went inside. The snakes unwound themselves and slithered to the ground in their nāga forms.

Shiro stretched. "Mm, I feel good. Thanks for the ride, _Sri Nila_."

"Weren't you the one who wheedled my name out of me? Any chance you'll use it?" He glowered when the albino shrugged and smirked inanely. He turned to the kitchen and started preparing his dinner, hearing his guests settling behind him on the island and in the chairs behind it. He took out some pork from the freezer and shoved it into the microwave to thaw, before grabbing a some noodles and an egg. He filled a pot with a water, chicken-broth mixture and threw it on the stove to boil. A long string of silence went by before he finally spoke. "So, any reason why you guys are still here."

"Well," Ichigo started, "it's Autumn, and as snakes my _jyestha _and I can't function in the cold. It'd be one thing if we could find like a burrow or cave, but-"

He threw the noodles into the lightly boiling water and pulled the half-thawed pork from the microwave. "No, you can't stay here."

"But, _Sri _Grimmjow!"

He turned to them. "No, dammit! I live alone! I came all the fucking way out to the outskirts to be alone and away from EVERYBODY; humans and magical creatures alike. This is my space, and I don't want to deal with anyone in my space." He turned back to the counter and roughly sliced the pork. "Now, I'm not gonna kick you guys out on your asses, but I want you gone by next week, got it?" He looked over his shoulder and saw the nagas nodding in understanding. He turned back to his preparation. "Are any of you hungry?"

"Starving!" There was a low thud and Shiro let out a gurgling grunt. "Ow, what?"

"Then sit down, dinner'll be ready in 20 minutes or so. Someone go ask the cat if he's hungry."

"Probably not, he went hunting while you were out," he heard Ulquiorra utter. A chair squeaked against the polished wood floor in the small dining room and his wings rustled softly as he perched on it. More squeaks followed and the nagas settled on the stools at the island.

The group remained quiet as Grimmjow continued to cook, the only sounds heard being the sizzling as he cooked the sliced pork in a skillet. The noodles were cooked through and he poured off half the liquid before adding seasonings, the egg and the cooked pork to it and letting it simmer for a few more minutes. He ladled generous servings into bowls and served them to his "guests" who took them graciously and dug in. Grimmjow settled in the chair across from Ulquiorra before eating as well.

"Wow, this is really good," Shiro said.

Ichigo savoured a bite and gave the bluenet a wary look. "You're being awfully nice considering how bad you want us gone," he tested.

"I can't eat around people who aren't eating, it's awkward and makes the food taste weird." He took a bite of meat.

"You also have a lot of chairs."

"My parents come over for the holidays."

"Your parents are alive?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't they be?"

"You seem old enough that they would've passed by now."

Grimm stared at him. "I'm only 25."

"Really?" both nagas chorused.

"Yeah. What's with the twenty questions? _I _should be the one questioning you guys!" He gave them a hard glare and slurped up some noodles.

Ichigo and Shiro looked at each other and back at their human host. "Well, ask away -

"- _Sri Nila_."

"- _Sri Grimmjow_."

Grimmjow looked at them both, staring as he nibbled at the hunk of meat at the end of his chopsticks. He had a lot of questions, but he wasn't sure which one he wanted to ask first. It had always been a daunting task for him, asking questions. Especially when he was just a twerp. He had to be careful or those who didn't already know that he could see their true forms would get scared and avoid him like the plague, but this was a different situation than a small side-chat in line at the local cafe.

"Why are you guys here? Shouldn't you be in one of those _kemono no okoku_?"

Ulquiorra gave him a sharp look, but continued to eat.

"Yah know about those, huh?" Shiro asked calmly, though his opposite looked a little worried.

"My dad told me about them. Answer my question."

Shiro's calm look looked wary, though he still had his signature smirk pinned on his gob. Grimm could see it in his eyes. The naga was looking for an excuse, possibly for a lie. Soon a resigned look came over him. "We're all outcasts, we don't belong anywhere."

"Why?"

"If you don't mind, we'd rather not talk about it."

Grimm didn't like that answer, but let it go with a nod. "I can live with that. But why here? The nearest k_emono no okoku _is miles away with at least ten cities in between."

"This particular town has the highest concentration of beings that are safe from... those who wish to kill us. We wanted to come and figure out a way to just blend in, but," he chuckled without humor, " the weather got in the way."

"I don't get it. You guys are hunted? Why? By who?"

Ulquiorra gave him a deeply suspicious look that the twins adopted as well. "You don't know?"

"No, I don't. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You... know so much about everything else that it's surprising that you don't know that basic fact," Ichigo said.

_That's not what he wanted to say, but I guess I'll let that pass. _"But why are you hunted?"

Shiro shrugged. "Some of us jus' ain't nice. They'll attack anythin' and everythin' and instead of figurin' out who's killin' who, like your human police do, they kill who ever they think is at fault. Others simply kill cuz we're different; we're not human therefore we're bad."

"That's not right..."

"It's the way it is."

He pushed his bowl away, his appetite forgotten for now, and rested his elbows on the table. "Why is just this town safe for you guys?"

Both nagas shrugged. "We don't really know if it really is; it's only a baseless rumor."

Ulquiorra set his chopsticks to the side and brought the bowl to his lips. "A group of hunters came together to create this town under the condition that any and all beasts under their protection must follow a few set rules. If any of them are broken, there will be a beast massacre. So far Renji already broke a rule: he attacked a human." He began sipping the broth left in the bowl.

"Wow, Ulqui," Shiro murmured. "You sure are smart about all this."

Ulquiorra set down the now empty bowl, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand while placing the chopsticks across the top. "I do my research." His bones shifted and he turned into a small furry bat, who perched on the chopsticks and began cleaning himself.

"So I guess we'd have tah find a hunter tah admit us here..." Shiro murmured. He began whispering with his brother quietly.

Grimmjow loudly slurped up the last few noodles and sucked back the broth, giving a low belch when he finished. "Great, so I'll end up seeing you everyday if that happens."

"Maybe we'll even be neighbors!" Ichigo laughed,

"Don't even joke about that." Grimm scooted Ulquiorra from his perch and gathered the bowls. He took them to the kitchen and set them in the sink. He took a moment to store the rest of the dinner in a large Tupperware container and put it into the fridge to cool. He yawned, his weariness having made itself known. He scratched his neck and turned back to the twins who were finishing up their meals.

Ichigo slid from the stool and slithered over to the sink where he placed his bowl. Grimm considered the loincloth on the naga's hips. "Why do you wear that?"

"Hm? Oh." Ichigo turned to him and lifted the front flap of the covering. Underneath Grimm could see the small area where separate legs turned into the tail he stood upon. The loincloth was slid through that split concealing an obvious bulge.

"That's... interesting..." He stored that weird fact in the back of his mind and looked to Ulquiorra who had returned to his half-human form. He was nocturnal so he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. "What are you going to do?"

"I was going to enjoy the night, but I smell rain," he murmured. "I'll do something else."

He nodded.

"_Sri _Grimmjow?"

"Hm?"

"Can we sleep with you again?"

"No! You nearly killed me!" Grimm turned to stomp off to his room, and lock the door behind him. He stopped when long arms wrapped around his neck and a set of legs wrapped around his waist. He shifted so that the new weight wouldn't make him fall, and grabbed the thin legs on his hips, feeling the tiny scales on them.

"We'll sleep like this so that we don't crush you. Please _Sri _ Grimmjow?"

Grimm opened his mouth to state his resolve, but Shiro stepped in front of him on his own two legs and hugged him around the neck as well. The human sighed. "Fine, if only because I the guest room and attic are cold this time of year." He knock them off and headed for his room. "But as soon as I fix up the guest room, you guys are sleeping there until you leave, got it?"

"Yeah, thanks, _Sri Nila_!"

Grimm changed into his pyjamas and tossed a few extra shirts at the snakes, ordering then to put them on, and ignoring their complaints. He turned off his light, went to his bed and crawled under his blankets. He watched the glowing eyes of the Nagas grow near and felt them climb under the blankets and snuggle up to him. He shivered but allowed himself get used to the chill and settled into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Yay, here's the next chapter, I had a hard time writing this one for some reason. *laughs* Though, boy did I enjoy writing the kitchen scene!

_**Dictionary**_: I decided that Shiro and Ichigo would use Sanskrit words and honorifics in the story! (^_^) I used a website I found instead of Google Translate so maybe the translation quality is better (?) and I say that lightly since I don't know any Sanskrit *laughs*

_Jyestha: _(jyey-STHA) Sanskrit, Elder brother

_Kemono no okoku_: Japanese, Beast kingdoms

_Nila_: (NEE-la) Sanskrit, Blue

I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review!

_Sri_: (SREE) The Sanskrit equivalent of Mr.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out my profile for updates on stories! Please review and have a nice day!


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